The name Cheng Zhao was not only famous in Chengjia Village, but also spread to Dahe Village.
Everyone in the village knows that the eldest sister-in-law of the Zhao family has a nephew who is very good at studying, so the eldest sister-in-law of the Zhao family has worked hard to support her family in recent years.
As soon as he said that he was Cheng Zhao from Chengjia Village, the gatekeeper immediately let him go.
The main thing is that Cheng Zhao is handsome and looks like a weak scholar without any offensive power.
It was already afternoon now, and some people in the village who had eaten early had already begun to prepare dinner. Scattered smoke floated into the sky.
Cheng Zhao walked all the way to the door of Cheng Wanwan's house and saw Cheng Xiaocao standing at the door, leaning on the fence and looking into the yard.
He frowned: "Xiaocao, why are you at the second aunt's house?"
Cheng Xiaocao was shocked. When she saw that it was her eldest brother, she immediately felt aggrieved: "Brother, cousin Sidan didn't allow me to enter the yard and asked me to stand outside. Wow, oh, oh, I'm so hungry." …”
As soon as she cried, she made a scene and Zhao Ergou walked out of the house.
He looked at Cheng Zhao and sneered: "Don't think that my mother will let go if you come here in person. My mother has said that if she has money, she will only support Sidan to study. You should take your sister and get out of our Dahe Village."
"I'm not here to ask for money."
Cheng Zhao said quietly, taking out a money bag from his sleeve.
He pursed his lips and said, "Here are three taels of silver. I will pay it back to my second aunt first. I will pay back the money I owe later."
Zhao Ergou saw the three taels of white money, and a trace of disbelief flashed in his eyes. Only the Cheng family had always taken things from their house, and they had never gotten anything from the Cheng family. The eldest cousin was a scholar, so he couldn't be Are you holding back some bad ideas?
He didn't dare to make his own decision, so he called his mother out as soon as he entered the room.
Cheng Wanwan was filtering ice powder. After the supply increased, filtering ice powder became a long and tiring task. She and Sanniu were so busy that they only finished less than half of it.
She didn't plan to do the rest, so she let the two dogs and three cows finish it. She had to prepare dinner.
"Mom, Cheng Zhao is here." Zhao Ergou walked in and lowered his voice, "He said he was here to pay back the money, and he brought three taels of silver with him."
Cheng Wanwan wiped her hands and narrowed her eyes: "I'll go out and take a look."
When I walked outside, I saw Cheng Zhao. He was still wearing the same clothes from Nanfu Academy, a blue and white gown. He had a slender figure, frail but not thin, and there was a sense of righteousness between his eyebrows.
She walked over, stood behind the courtyard gate, and said quietly: "Zhao'er, your grandma said that if I didn't give you two taels of silver to make bundles for you, she kept throwing the grass in Dahe Village. My family has a large population. We don’t have much food, so I can’t afford you to study, nor can I support your sister.”
Cheng Zhao said: "Second aunt, I won't study in the future, nor will I take the college entrance examination. I will slowly pay back the money that my second aunt gave me to study in the past. This is three taels of silver. Please accept it." "
He handed over the money bag.
Cheng Wanwan took it and weighed it. It was indeed three taels of silver, with some copper plates inside.
Doubts flashed through her mind. The last time she went to Dehe Hall to buy books, the shopkeeper said that Cheng Zhao was almost the best student in Nanfu Academy. He was very likely to be admitted as a scholar in the college examination next year. Why did he say that he would not study if he didn't want to study? , really because of lack of money?
The dozen or so members of the Cheng family will definitely help solve the problem of money shortage. Mrs. Cheng is afraid that she would rather sell her other grandchildren than her eldest grandson fail to pass the examination.
It seemed that she had to ask someone to find out.
She put the money into her pocket and said, "Since I don't want to study anymore, what are my plans for the future? I can't afford to pay back the money I owe by farming."
Cheng Zhao did not hide anything: "I plan to copy books for Dehetang. A book costs 100 cents. If I copy more, I can always pay it back."
Cheng Wanwan nodded: "In that case, I will go to Dehetang with you tomorrow to make it clear. You will be responsible for copying the books. I will settle the account every half month. When it is paid off, you will return to Chengjia Village."
Cheng Zhao was stunned: "Second, second aunt, you mean to let me stay here for the night?"
Cheng Wanwan curled his lips: "Why, you don't want to stay at the second aunt's house for one night?"
Cheng Zhao had no choice but to agree.
There was Cheng Xiaocao next to her. Cheng Wanwan was impatient to deal with this girl, so she stuffed the girl with a piece of grain pancake and asked Zhao Dashan to send it back quickly.
Before, Cheng Xiaocao dared to hold Cheng Wanwan's thigh and act recklessly, but Cheng Zhao was here and she didn't dare to say a word. In the Cheng family, grandma was the first, so this eldest brother was the second. The eldest brother asked her If she goes back, she can only go home.
Zhao Dashan walked quickly, carrying Cheng Xiaocao on his back and quickly arrived at Chengjia Village. He didn't even enter the Chengjia courtyard gate, abandoned Cheng Xiaocao and ran away.
When Old Mrs. Cheng saw her granddaughter coming back, she immediately became furious: "Why did you come back on your own, you money-losing girl? Didn't I tell you to stay at your second aunt's house..."
Cheng Xiaocao lowered his head and cried, "It was the eldest brother who asked me to come back. The eldest brother stayed at the second aunt's house for the night. I was not allowed to stay. I was afraid of the eldest brother..."
Sister-in-law Cheng was stunned: "You said Zhao'er stayed at his second aunt's house for the night?"
Since her son started studying, he has been very particular about everything he does. A separate room must have a desk, a window sill, be bright, and be tidy. The family has specially prepared a room like this for him, and he is not satisfied with it either. , rarely staying at home overnight.
Now, he actually took the initiative to go to his second aunt's house?
Mrs. Cheng frowned: "Zhao'er has always been smart, he must have his own ideas."
"I know!" Sister-in-law Cheng's face was full of joy. "Although the second sister-in-law has fallen out with us, she will definitely not care about Zhao'er. Her favorite is Zhao'er. In the second sister-in-law's heart, this eldest nephew's The weight is much heavier than those four little bastards from the Zhao family. If Zhao'er goes to ask for it in person, the second sister-in-law will definitely relent and help Zhao'er pay for the repairs."
Mrs. Cheng nodded: "I guess that's the case. Since Zhao'er can pay for the repair costs by himself, then we have to find a way to find another academy for Zhao'er. It's not like Nanfu Academy is the only one in the world that can study."
In Dahe Village, smoke curls up from cooking stoves.
Cheng Wanwan asked Zhao Sidan to watch the stove fire while she was cooking. First, she had to make nourishing soup for her eldest daughter-in-law. There was still one fish left from the previous meal. She cleaned it and stewed it in a pot, and then made wild vegetables. Multigrain cakes are posted around the pot. If it is morning, two cakes are enough for one person, but this is dinner. The children at home have been busy and hard all day, and they should eat a little full before they can sleep well.
Cheng Zhao, an outsider, was not suitable for eating white rice at home, so she cooked corn porridge and mixed it with some black noodles and wild vegetables.
Cheng Zhao was very cramped in the courtyard now and didn't know what to do at all.
Over the years, he rarely went home. During the Chinese New Year, he stayed at home for the longest time, about half a month. He read and wrote every day. It would be great if he had a book now. He could read and kill some time.
He saw Zhao Dashan and Zhao Ergou making adobe, walked over and asked, "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Zhao Ergou said without raising his head: "My eldest cousin's hands are for reading and writing. Don't wear them out. Stand far away and be careful not to get splashed by mud."
